


Jet Plane

by orphan_account



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Anxiety Attacks, Awkwardness, Drinking, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Sleepovers, Slow Burn, briefly sick josh, drunk conversations, joshler - Freeform, shy josh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-19 16:36:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16538258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In which Tyler Joseph works the graveyard shift in a grocery store, and forms an unlikely bond with a strange man.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> its been a while since I wrote an actual fic so 
> 
> have this cutesy shit

Tyler really didn’t want to have to get a job, to be honest. He just wanted to go straight out on the road with his music, self employed and free to do whatever the fuck he wanted.

Sadly, that wasn’t how it worked, so he was stuck stocking tampons for now.

On this particular night it’d been very, very slow. So slow in fact, that he considered dodging into the vegan section for a quick nap behind the display cases. No one goes into that aisle anyways. But alas, his plans were foiled.

”I need you to lock up in the morning, I’m heading out soon.”  His manager, Mark shouts, way too early for this time of night. He tosses the automatic door keys at Tyler, and he misses when he tries to catch them from behind the checkout counter. “Jeez,  Joseph, here I was thinking you had good aim- with your whole Troy Bolton act goin’ on.” 

 

Tyler rolls his eyes. “Sorry, I’m just really tired right now.” 

Mark fake pouts, pretending to wipe his tearless eyes with his fist. “Poor baby. Well, I’ll see you later.” 

Tyler smirks as Mark gets halfway out the door , shouting after him. “Bye asshole!” the other male flips him off with two hands, disappearing into the dim parking lot.

Half an hour later, Tyler is fully engrossed in an episode of The Walking Dead he pulled up on his phone. He’s shoving stale cheez puffs from the clearance section into his mouth when a car pulls up outside. He stuffs the food under the cash register and puts on his best- albeit, tired-customer service smile as the person walks in the front doors. 

The man seems to be in his twenties, maybe a year older than Tyler. Slightly curly haired, with glasses. Tyler notices that he walks in without even looking at him. _Eh_ , _he_ _probably_ _knows_ _what_ _he_ _needs_ _to_ _get_. Tyler thinks, returning his eyes to his screen.

He’s interrupted again not even a second later, and suddenly the man is right in front of him. He doesn’t make eye contact, and his eyes dart around seemingly everywhere in the room besides Tyler. He doesn’t mind someone not looking at him directly though, as he’s greasy and sweaty from working all day.

”Can I help you with something, sir?” Tyler offers, flipping his phone face-down and shutting the screen off. 

“Uh-Uhm yeah do you guys have any cough syrup?” The man stutters out. Tyler thinks the way he speaks is kind of cute, all soft and non-demanding unlike the voices that usually come in here at ungodly hours of the night.

”Yeah, of course.” Tyler reaches behind him into the security locked cabinet they usually keep cigarettes in, and pulls out a bottle of Robitussin. “We usually keep it out there, but some dude tried to jack tons of cough syrup last week. Found out he was using it for drugs.” He says nonchalantly, setting the cough syrup in front of the man.

The man laughs a little at his story, but looks down, averting his gaze again. “Yeah, can I go ahead and check this out?”

Tyler nods quickly, scanning the bottle. “Yeah sure! That’ll be...$6.88.” 

The man hands Tyler the card, and he notices the edge of a sleeve tattoo peeking out. He takes the card and swipes it through the machine. “I see you have some tattoos. You don’t seem like the type.” 

The other male answers a little late, almost as if he wasn’t expecting to be conversed with. “Uh, yeah. I get that a lot.” 

Tyler gets distracted by watching his Adam’s apple bob in his throat, shaking his head when he realized Josh had inputted his pin and stopped talking. “Okay, well, thank you, have a nice _day_...?” Tyler pauses, searching for an indication of a name from the other, and holding out a bag with his cough syrup in it.

”My name is Josh.”  Josh takes the bag from Tyler’s hand. “You have a nice night too...Tyler.” He says slowly, peeking down at the plastic name tag pinned to Tyler’s red vest.

Tyler doesn’t really know why he blushes when Josh says his name, or why he’s still blushing when Josh is gone from the store completely. 

 

But he knows he _kind_ - _of_ - _sorta_ wants the curly headed boy to come in the store again.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Tyler locks up at five am when he leaves, handing the keys off to another employee who was supposed to open at nine. The sky was overcast, slight tinges of blue peeking out of the horizon. The cold air slightly burnt his nostrils when he breathed in. He pulls his coat closer to himself as he unlocks his car. He's set to work at eight pm today, starting his day all over. To say he was sick of the shift he was on was an understatement. Grueling, long hours of the night were becoming apparent on his face. He grimaces when he looks in the car mirror at his off-brown eye bags.

  
  
Putting the keys into the ignition, Tyler begins to pull his car out, but he spots something in his rear view mirrors that makes him slam his brakes. A car, not just any car, but Josh's car, was parked in a vacant church parking lot across the road. He squints, trying to get a better look at it. The second glance confirms his thoughts. Tyler sighs, rubbing his eyes as he pulls out of the grocery store and into the church parking lot where Josh was parked. He can't just leave the guy out in the cold. He's had homeless people loiter before, and have had to tell them to find somewhere else to stay, but he really didn't want Josh to freeze somewhere else.  He stops his car a few spaces away from Josh, biting his lip. Does he get out or just let the church officials deal with it on their own when they get there? He hums a frustrated noise, looking forward and gripping his wheel for a second. 

  
  
"Fuck it." He curses, getting out of his car and into the cold air. It hadn't gotten any brighter, which surprised him to say the least, judging by how long he spent stalling in the car. He approaches the window. Josh is curled up, possibly asleep. His shoulders shake occasionally with a nasty cough. His curly hair hangs in his face, and he's sweating despite the sub-zero temperature. Poor guy, he thinks, knocking on the blue-green tinted glass. "Hey." He attempts, his voice soft as to not startle Josh too much. 

  
  
Josh rubs his eyes, snorting awake, and turning to look at Tyler. His red eyes widen, and he rolls down the window. He looks apologetic, and guilty, eyes watering. "I'm sorry I-I don't...I don't have anywhere else to go- I'll just-" He quickly makes a move to get out of the car and walk. 

  
  
"Hey, no. " Tyler reaches in and stops his chilled hand. " Do you need somewhere to stay?" His sympathy doesn't catch up to his brain, letting the offer come straight out without thinking. He doesn't usually let complete strangers stay in his house, but Josh wasn't really a stranger. He'd talked with him a little bit in the store, and he seemed nice and non-offending enough. He could almost hear his mom's voice in his head from when he was young, freaking out and calling Tyler an idiot for talking to strangers, but _he was an adult now, mom._

  
Josh hesitates, looking Tyler up and down. "You don't have to do this."  
  
  
"I want to." Tyler insists. "Do you have any gas left in this thing?"  
  
  
He shakes his head, looking into his lap. "I ran out at the store and pushed my car over here myself. It also won't start anymore."  
  
  
Tyler wrinkles his eyebrows in disbelief. "Why didn't you ask for help?" 

  
  
"Didn't wanna bother anybody? I don't know, I-I don't..." Josh looks heavily conflicted, so Tyler decides to make the choice for him. 

  
  
"You're sick and feverish, let me take you to my house so you can get better." He pulls the car door open for Josh, reaching out a hand to help him up out of the small vehicle. "Leave the car here."  
  
Josh' resistance fades, gripping his hand and hoisting himself up with a groan. There's a shag blanket wrapped around his shoulders, really providing him little to no warmth. The younger male helps him sit down into his own car, and Josh almost cries at the heat spilling in from the fan in the car.  After shutting his door, and locking up the other busted, old car, Tyler gets in the drivers seat and begins to drive in the direction of the city.

  
  
  
Neither one speaks. but neither one minds. They both bask in the warm air spilling over their faces.

* * *

  
Tyler opens the door to his small, but quaint apartment, letting Josh in first. It wasn't anything special, typical for a kid just starting his life alone, but he liked it. The complex didn't smell like death like others he'd looked at, and the walls were thick, so no one could hear him when he recorded his music.  
  
  
Josh begins a coughing fit when he takes a deep breath. Tyler quickly puts his arm around his waist and guides him down on the couch. He doesn't like seeing people ill, so much so,  that he would sacrifice his own well being to care for someone who was sick. He grabs a weighted comforter from the armchair beside the sofa, draping it over Josh softly.   
  
  
"Thank you." He whispers, almost too quiet to hear.   
  
  
"When did you take your last dose of medicine?" Tyler questions, sitting down and rubbing his back. He doesn't know why he does, but it just feels natural.   
  
  


"Right after I left the store." He croaks, coughing immediately after. Tyler makes a move for the remote on the coffee table, turning on the small flat-screen in front of them. He shifts through channels and finally settles on a showing of the movie Elf. Getting up, he looks back at Josh for a second. Tyler almost wants to coo at him, he looked so pitiful and cute sitting on the couch. He looked tiny underneath the blanket. He mentally erases his thoughts.

  
  
"I'm gonna get you a change of clothes and some dayquil, okay? Then you can take a shower."  He tilts his head at Josh, almost maternal in the way that he's speaking. His lilting tone soothes Josh's bones.

  
  
Josh didn't really understand why he was being so nice to him, but in his situation he wasn't in the place to complain about help. Everything he could get he just wanted to sop up, because he knew he was going to lose it like everything else. "Mmm." Josh hums in agreement, beginning to lay down on the couch. He was so, so tired. His eyes close as he watches the colorful figures on the television move.   
  


* * *

 Soon enough, Tyler is back, balancing two cups of tea, clothes in another hand, and an orange dayquil bottle tucked under his arm. He quickly distributes the items onto the coffee table. Retail really shows you how to balance things. The sound of the cup clacking wakes Josh up, and he rubs his sleepy eyes.  
  
  
"Morning." Tyler smirks,  looking down at him on the couch.  
  
  
"How long was I asleep?" Josh asks, staring at the cup of tea unsure if he should go for it. 

  
  
  
"No longer than twenty minutes." He states. Josh notices that Tyler is changed into pajamas now, baggy red flannel pants and a big sweater. His attire almost matches the outfit sitting on the table. "If you wanna uh, go shower before you get your tea and your medicine you can. I'm sorry if you don't like tea, I just like a hot drink when I'm cold."   
  
  
"Uh, I like tea. I think I'll sit here for now. M'legs are kind of shaky." Josh weakly grins up at him. Tyler almost faints at how his eyes wrinkle at the edges, this man really is adorable. 

  
  
  
Tyler shakes his head. _What the fuck, man. That's gross._ He simply nods to Josh's answer, and plops down in the armchair, curling his legs up beside him. He takes his own cup of tea from the  table and sips it silently, not really watching the tv, but glancing over now and then. He tries to gather his thoughts and not focus on how - ~~incredibly cute -~~ _great of a guest_  Josh is being. The older male is biting his thumb softly, and has picked up his tea, hands barely sneaking out from under the blanket. He catches Tyler staring for a moment and gives another smile, making his heart race out of his chest. _Fuck._

  
  
  
"I-I'm uh, I'm gonna go to bed. If you want to shower or change the bathroom is the third door on the left." He rushes out his words, running his fingers through his hair and practically jogging off down the hallway with his tea.  Once he's set his tea down on his dresser he shuts his door, sliding down it dramatically. He rethinks this whole situation about five-thousand times. He's just let a sick, homeless stranger into his home. A stranger who he weirdly thinks is cute, _which he shouldn't- Because that's fucking gross_ , he tells himself over and over. _It's a platonic thing_ , he reminds himself. _He can appreciate someone's looks, and ~~kind of want to run his fingers through their curly, soft chocolate brown hair~~ without being gay.  
_

  
_Right?_


	3. Chapter 3

Tyler falls asleep with his laptop open beside him, playing some indie song he loved but could never remember the name of. He wakes the next afternoon, coughing himself awake. God damnit, if Josh gave him his cold. 

 

 

He suddenly remembers there’s a stranger in his house, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and walking out to check on him.

 

Josh is snoring loudly, his hand on the exposed part of his belly under his shirt, and the other hanging off the couch. The blanket was kicked down to his calves. On Tyler, the clothes he was wearing were baggy, but on him, they fit in all the right places. Tyler curses under his breath, trying not to look at how good his legs looked in those pants, because they _really_ , _really_ did.

 

He doesn’t wake him, instead pulling the covers back up over his ~~beautifully~~ sweaty body. He briefly wonders if he’s always hot when he sleeps. As in temperature, not the other thing. But maybe the other thing also. 

 

Sighing heavily through his nose, he makes ‘breakfast’ even though it was already three o’clock. Eggs, pancakes, and a mocha cappuccino for both. If he was honest, he never usually eats breakfast in the morning anymore, what with his hectic work schedule. He hopes Josh is a pancake kind of guy. He’s awake, curly hair wild on his head now, when Tyler sets the plates down. 

 

“Hey sleepyhead.” Tyler sits down in the wooden dining chair, placing Josh’s plate in front of the seat beside him.

 

_Whatever_ _that_ _means_.

 

Josh groans, stretching with his arms up in the air. His shoulders pop, and Tyler sees just how built this dude really is. He could probably rip Tyler in half, and he’d say thank you. He chokes on his coffee, accidentally breathing it in as he oogled Josh, coughing his lungs out.

 

Josh almost wants to laugh, getting up and walking over to pat Tyler’s back while he coughs. “You okay?”

Tyler weakly smiles, batting away Josh’s hand anxiously. “Yeah-“ One more cough. “-I’m fine, just used coffee as air.” The sweet liquid sticks to his sore throat in an unpleasant way. 

 

Josh sits down silently, glancing  at Tyler occasionally almost as if he’s trying to study him to see if he’s some kind of axe murderer. He takes an almost too big bite of his pancakes greedily. He swallows hard and groans at the taste, glancing at Tyler again. “S’really good.”

 

Tyler is practically speechless, unsure how Josh is so casually oblivious to how _attractive_ he is doing mundane things. “Uh, yeah thanks. It’s my moms recipe. She usually puts some walnuts in but I didn’t know if you had a-“ He watches Josh take another bite, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Nut allergy.”

 

”You have a great mom.” Josh blurts, mouth full of food. 

“She’d be happy to hear that.” Tyler holds his tongue between his teeth, almost as if he’s gonna speak again, but instead just stays silent and finishes off his food.

 

* * *

 

“I take it you’re feeling a lot better?” Tyler asks, gathering the plates once they’re barren except for drips of syrup.

 

Josh nods, bending against the chair to crack his back. “Yeah, once I got the DayQuil and the warm air I felt pretty good again...” He makes eye contact with Tyler, although it’s very difficult for him. “Thank you, by the way. No one has been this kind to me in a couple years.”

 

Tyler’s heart sinks at the thought of someone ignoring Josh’s cries for help, and he gets the overwhelming urge to wrap him up in his arms and keep him safe.

So he does.

 

Josh is taken aback slightly, looping his arms around Tyler’s waist. The hug feels simultaneously very weird, and like something he’s been waiting years for all at the same time. They sit there a while in the awkward silence so long that they both close their eyes. Neither wants to let go, but they eventually have to.

 

Tyler pulls back first, twisting his fingers in his own hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep boundaries or anything. I just...don’t understand how people can be so cold towards you.”

 

Josh chuckles, a full-bodied, warm sound. He stands up, towering over Tyler at least one inch. “Don’t worry, I’m a hugger.”

 

Tyler tries to avoid his eyes, stepping aside him. “I uh, gotta go get dressed for my next shift.” He lies through his teeth. He had like three and a half hours still, but he really didn’t want to spend more time next to Josh right now. He made him feel weird in a way he’s never felt for anyone else except for one person when he was in middle school.

 

”You can stay here as long as you need, just don’t steal from me or something.” Tyler jokes, putting more space between them.

 

Josh laughs, still kind of in disbelief he’s able to stay in a warm house. “I can’t thank you enough, really.” He moves closer when he realizes Tyler is backing up, very confused.

 

Tyler panics when Josh gets closer to him, blushing hard as he bails away from the situation for the thousandth time. “ANYWAYS! I reallygottagoshowerso-“ He runs into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

 

Josh is left even more confused than he already was, wrinkling up his nose. Was it something he did? Why was Tyler avoiding him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in the next chapter we’ll delve into more of Josh’s side of things, and his background


	4. Chapter 4

Because he had currently nowhere else to go, and because Tyler was nice enough to entrust him with his house all night, Josh decided the least he could do was clean up for him. He knows not to snoop too much, so he focuses on cleaning the dishes in the sink. After all, he took part in creating them.

 

Soon enough he’s tidied the whole apartment save for Tyler’s bedroom. Winded from moving a lot with his illness, he plops down on the couch, broom and dustpan propped up on the arm beside him. It’s still a couple hours until Tyler gets home, so he stares at reruns of The Golden Girls until the clock above the blaring tv strikes 5 AM. He felt like a giddy child, waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas morning. He yawns openly, rubbing his eyes.

 

His shoulder protests as he moves his arms back down, making him hiss as he reaches up to rub it. If Josh is sure of anything at this point, it’s that he needs to start sleeping on a flat surface. Looking around, he realizes the soft carpeted floor is his only option. He doesn’t mind, because he’s slept on worse things in his life.

 

He moves the comforter to the floor, and lays flat on it. His shoulder doesn’t crack anymore. Much better.

 

Tyler walks in the door noisily right as Josh is on the brink of sleep, hoisting up multiple shopping bags in his arms and onto the kitchen counter. “I’m sorry I’m late, just had to restock some stuff here- Why are you on the floor?” He peeks into the living room confused. 

 

Josh tilts his head to stare back at Tyler, upside down in his vision. “I think I pulled a muscle last night, wanted to lay flat for a little bit.”

Tyler frowns, crossing his arms. “Well, the floor gets pretty damn cold.” 

 

He wants to be a good guest, and despite the fact that he’s probably going to have to layer up on borrowed sweaters tonight, he just shrugs. “That’s okay.” 

 

The other male pinches the bridge of his nose, pacing for a minute before walking closer. “Do you wanna sleep in my bed? It’s a California King, it can fit at least six people with like, seven winter coats on each.” 

 

Josh thinks it’s a little forward to sleep in bed with a stranger until he reminds himself again of worst things, and people he’s slept with. “As long as you’re comfortable.”

 

 “Yes, of course I’m comfortable. I-I mean, I’m probably more comfortable than _anyone_ , even more probably-“ Tyler rambles, continuing to pace. He brings a hand up to his mouth, biting his thumb skin as he talks. All of his words come out muffled, but it’s either this or he flips out.

Josh sits up, gathering the weighted blanket from the floor. He tries to avoid showing the pain of his aching shoulder muscle. “Great, let’s go to bed then.” 

 

After Tyler fusses with the sheets for way too long, the two finally shuffle down into the large bed. Josh notices Tyler’s room kind of smells like honeysuckle and pine. A weird combination, but for some reason it blended together perfectly when paired with Tyler’s room. Basketball trophies adorned a complete wall, and two signed jerseys hung beside them  inside poster frames. _Huh_ , _so_ _Tyler_ _was_ _a_ _jock_.   _Surprising_.

 

“So what’s your story?” Tyler cuts through the rustle of the sheets, shutting off the bedside lamp. They’re enveloped with darkness, and Josh watches the electric waves in his eyes as he adjusts to the darkness.

 

”Uh...” He quickly realizes he’s never prepared to answer this question, even though he’s been asked this ten thousand times. Being homeless really draws you some attention. “You mean like, how I ended up homeless or...?”

 

”Mhmm.” Tyler hums in affirmation. He seems to turn to face Josh, even though there’s no way for him to tell except the sound of the blankets shifting. It feels safer this way, non confrontational. Just talking.

 

“Well, on my eighteenth birthday I made the huge mistake of coming out to my parents.” Josh sighs out, putting his arms behind his head. “I thought I would’ve been safe, since they always preach about equality. Guess they just meant about race.”

Tyler winces, reaching over to him to rest his hand over his apologetically. “I’m sorry dude.” 

 

Josh looks over in the direction of where he thinks his face is, just idly taking his hand. It’s not so much of a romantic gesture as it’s just comfortable. “It’s okay. I’ll just be a couch-surfer for a bit.” He drops Tyler’s hand, and puts his own back behind his head.

 

Tyler doesn’t notice he’s moved until his hand makes contact with Josh’s warm abdomen. He’s glad he can’t see his deep red blush right now, though he’s so hot in the face right now he might as well be glow in the dark. He feels the muscles periodically flex and relax under his skin as he breathes and his jaw falls slack. _Fuck_. He shakes his head, clearing his throat and pulling his hand back quick to bury it under the blanket. “Y’know if you wanna stay here until you can find a job, I’m open to that.  Just two buds sharing beds.” He laughs nervously, hoping he doesn’t creep Josh out with his generous offer.

 

”That’d be very sweet of you, but I don’t know if I wanna barge in on you like that.” Josh shifts, and bumps into something soft but resistant against his leg. He feels around for a minute and finds exactly what was keeping him from rolling over. “Dude did you...build a pillow barrier between us?” 

 

Tyler’s resolve crashes down and he puts his hands over his face. “Sorry, I just- sorry. It’s nothing about you it’s more me.”

”What do you mean, about you?” Josh wrinkles his eyebrows. He hopes to god this wasn’t because he told Tyler he was gay.

 

”I’m- I can’t okay? Because when you touch me I freak out really bad and I don’t know what to do.” Tyler blurts, sitting up and wringing his eyes with his hands. “Not that I think you’re gonna try to make a pass on me while we lay here, but because I kind of want you to.” 

 

Josh’s eyes widen, and he lets go of the pillows between them. He makes sure they all drop back to their original position. “Oh, okay. I’m sorry.” He doesn’t know why he’s apologizing now, but it feels right.

 

Tyler groans, turning around to move the pillows down onto the floor, leaving only the ones under him and Josh’s heads. “Don’t be sorry, I’m being uptight because I’m gross.”

 

”Hey, it’s not gross. Especially coming from you. You’re cute Tyler. It’s not like it’s offensive to me, it’s completely natural.” Josh swears he feels like he’s in the shoes of every single person who encouraged him coming out. 

“It’s not natural for _me_.” Tyler grumbles. “ I like _girls_.” 

 

“Your body wants what it wants, and it’s not your fault.” Josh leans over, the barrier not seperating them from scooting closer now. He reaches a hand out, laughing light-heartedly as he tries to find Tyler’s face. He finally settles his hand on the side of his jaw. “It’s okay to want to be physical with your affection, even on boys.” 

 

Tyler hopes and prays he doesn’t feel how warm he’s getting just from the touch. The dark helps him feel more comfortable, though, leaning into the touch and closing his eyes. “I’m a mess.” He chuckles, both boys with bashful grins on their faces.

 

”Aren’t we all, though?” Josh says, scooting absentmindedly until he’s sharing warmth with Tyler, an inch away from his body. Even on this big bed they’ve managed to gravitate so close, like a magnet pulling two souls together. 

They don’t notice they’re drifting off to sleep as the warm sun filters through the curtains onto them.

* * *

 

The midday light turns that comfortable sun into a horrible blinding beam. Josh squints, burying his face into what he thought was the most comfortable pillow he’s been on in his entire life. Until it moans. He practically jolts awake, looking right into Tyler’s face in front of him. Well, this was something.

 

Tylers face was tight, eyes crinkling at the edges like he was dreaming of something intense. Josh cards his hands through his hair, and he softens up, licking across his chapped lips to wet them. He feels pretty weird just staring at him sleeping, and since he was literally locked in this position he decides to give him a little nudge in his side.

 

Tyler breathes in, long eyelashes fluttering open like butterfly wings. He jerks back when he sees Josh in his face. “Eh-...what?”

Josh averts his gaze, way too close for being awake. “I’d like to go pee without having to carry you with me, so can you let me out of your legs?”

 

He blushes slightly, rolling away on his side and relinquishing Josh from the vice grip of his thighs. He’s silently celebrating that this is his off weekend, because otherwise he couldn’t mentally recover from that situation in time.

 

Tyler watches Josh practically pee-dance to the bathroom with a laugh, and for just a minute he imagines how nice it would be waking up with him every single day.

 


End file.
